Tokkou was ready to fight Clair seriously this time, fooling with this girl any longer would probably piss him off
"This is your last chance for real! Retreat or else I'm going to stop playing with you" Tokkou said with a serious expression on his face
"I'm not going to give up now Tokkou! My whole life I wanted to see your blood drip down my daggers and now that I can do that I'm not going to back down"
Tokkou after hearing that used his powers to break the ground into multiple pieces and launch them at Clair, Clair close the distance by slicing every piece of ground until she approached Tokkou close enough to kick Tokkou
Tokkou grabbed the kick easily and slammed her on the ground, Clair quickly recovered and tried to stab Tokkou's face but he easily dodged that attack and struck her with a backslap sending launching her away from him
"You are too obvious Clair, that's why you were never good enough to become a captain on your own, your eyes were set on a single goal, that being killing me" Tokkou said as he brushed off dust off his outfit
"Shut up Tokkou! You were always perfect, the symbol of hope and power, you could never know how hard I worked to get to this state!" Clair screamed as she threw multiple daggers at Tokkou
Tokkou easily used his telekinesis to stop them in the air
"You are ranked about in the middle of the gold rank and say that took you years and hard work? If you gave your all you would be a diamond-ranked adventurer at least, so stop telling me shitty reasons for your inability to get stronger!" Tokkou said as he laughed at Clair's face
'What is going on here? Why is this happening?' Teras thought, after that words started coming out of his mouth
"Why can't you talk it over? I'm sure there is an excuse of some kind" Teras said, Clair immediately attacked Teras and Tokkou had to get in between them to stop Clair from killing Teras
"You know nothing kid! So never talk about this matter kid!" Clair yelled as she glared at Teras's eyes
"I'm your opponent Clair! Don't lash at outsiders!" Tokkou said as she grabbed her face and slammed it on the ground cracking a big part of the ground around them
"Go somewhere safe Teras, you are only going to hold me back if you stay here" Tokkou said with a smile on his face
Teras nodded and run inside the mansion, more precisely he was watching from the doorframe
"Now how about a little dance?" Tokkou said as she threw Clair around
"Shut up bastard! Take this seriously!" Clair said as she tried to slash Tokkou
But to her surprise Tokkou easily dodged the attack taking a step to the side and then following with an uppercut, Tokkou then hit her with a jab combo of two attacks
Clair tried to fight back by trying to slash Tokkou once again but this time Tokkou ducked under the attack and with a smooth move kicked her in the ribs breaking them and also launching Clair away
Every move he did was buttery smooth with no delays or time for Clair to think, it was clear that Tokkou had the upper hand in hand-to-hand combat and generally was better at a tactical level
The fight was very one-sided but Clair didn't stop to struggle for what she thought was the right thing, and that made Teras respect her and also feel bad for her, seeing her getting this much beaten up by Tokkou made Teras feel the urge to save her
"Tokkou stop! Can't you just restrain her!" Teras screamed as he ran back into the garden
"Not really, she won't stop until she is satisfied so she either dies or walks away on her own, I won't force her to stop" Tokkou said as he was ready to attack Clair once again
"But that's not right! She is obviously losing this fight so why not let her go, I mean she isn't a threat to you"
"How about the maids? Becka? You? Do you think anybody else that I know can handle her? Now that she knows about you she will blackmail me with you, not that I see you as something precious but I don't want the blood of others to spill because of me"
Tokkou said with a serious expression on his face while looking into Teras's eyes
"But still you are the grand jack! Can't you tell the king to put her in jail or something? Killing is not the only option here! You are powerful enough to determine her fate, so please don't let her die!" Teras said as he glared back into Tokkou's eyes
For a moment everything froze, Clair tried to gather her strength together, but Teras didn't take his eyes off Tokkou, Becka watched everything from the back entrance of the mansion where Teras was watching previously, Tokkou took a deep breath and turned to Clair
"I will tell you one thing, it's up to you if you believe me or not, but I'm going to tell you, you have the right to know"
"I don't care about what you have to say, bastard!" Clair replied to Tokkou
"Your parents were Jackson and Tarnika, they were popular in the royal capital and were known as the most accepting people there, they treated beastmen and demons like humans even though they were pure humans and I respected them for that, that's something I can't do because my code doesn't allow me to but they did it anyway ignoring the code telling them not to, as a result, they were like by everyone in the capital, minority or not, they were also the leaders of a minority group that always applied for a change in the code and was basically the pillar of the minorities in the royal capital. If you respected them then why did you kill them? I hear you ask! The answer is I didn't, it's true that I was sent to break out the riot but I never used my power to push anyone, my presence simply scared many and they tried to run away, your parents tried to stop everyone from doing so by telling them to stand strong but in result, they were pushed away, then thrown down, and then getting stepped by and killed by the people they tried to help in the first place"
Hearing what Tokkou was saying Clair broke down and after every sentence, she screamed for Tokkou to stop
"YOU ARE LYING YOU KILLED THEM AND MANY MORE! YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT DEATH!!!" Clair screamed as she charged at Tokkou
'Such a waste...' He thought as he raised his hands
"God's push!"
…
It was a blank space, nothing around Clair, only two people waving from distance
"Mom? Dad?" She said to herself before starting to run toward her with child-like tears running down her face
But before she could hug them she was transported somewhere unknown
A man with wings was sitting on top of a rock
"Do not be afraid my child"
…
Clair was dead
"Why did you do that? That was beyond overkill!" Teras yelled as he grabbed Tokkou's shirt
"Let go of me, kid! Sometimes force is the only way to deal with people!" Tokkou said as he glared at Teras's eyes while emitting this dark aura he did back in the forest
"But..."
"There is no "BUT" in this situation Teras, I warned her multiple times to stop, as a member of the royals I have to be dominate or else the law will break thus everything will be in chaos, people are like ants, if you let one rebel and do as it pleases then it won't take long for others to follow this behavior, so eliminate them while you can, is my motto for people like that!" Tokkou said as he started to walk back into his mansion
"Clear this up, Becka" Tokkou said as he kept walking forward
The mess that was left behind was a stack of rocks and trees lying on the edge of a mountain, they looked like they were asleep, asleep as the body of Clair, a woman executed by Tokkou
'Is this really okay?' Teras wondered as his legs gave up on him
He was now facing the sky, he was looking at it with emotionless eyes while thinking
'I killed somebody too but that was for self-defense... I'm not in the same boat as him, am I?'
Teras thought as he sailed across the bright blue sky with his mind
…
Time passed and things were getting ready, Teras's departure was approaching, he made up his mind to leave a bit earlier than suggested, he wanted to think more about what happened
'Having someone chasing you in a town sure is scary and bad but death was a little bit harsh'
Teras thought as he was preparing a bag for his adventure, suddenly someone knocked on the door
It was Becka
"So you are leaving earlier?"
"Yeah, this is not a place for me and I have bothered you a little bit too much, you taught me too many things and I don't have anything to give you back, well... Only that!"
Teras said as he hugged Becka
"W-W-What are you doing? I don't need a gift!" Becka said in surprise, but after a bit, she gave up in the hug (Teras was warm and she returned from a job outside)
"Giving me armor and money was too much, I honestly don't know what to do, I see no reason for Tokkou to do all that stuff..." Teras said as he looked at the brand-new armor he wore
"I think he doesn't do that expecting something, that's how he is, I'm afraid to say that he would help anyone, that's the kind of person he is, as cruel as he might seem to you he does everything to please himself and other, I mean the huge arena you saw was his and when he hosts fights he makes them free so everyone can come and see, he doesn't care about gaining something back, seeing people smile is enough for him... So, please... Make sure to smile while leaving!" Becka said with a sweet smile
"I will!"
…
After a little more time, Teras was standing on the exit of the town and was headed to Prodo, a town filled with opportunities
"I hope you enjoyed your stay here and ignore all the inconvenience! I hope to see you again Teras, so make sure you don't die out there!"
Tokkou seemed a bit sad
"I won't after all you taught me how to fight remember? Oh before I go I should return you this!"
Teras said as he offered the mana-enhanced sword Tokkou gave him
"I told you, this is a good luck charm and more like a relic in my room, I don't need it! Plus you can use that thing better than I can so why not keep it? It will be a waste if I get to keep it!"
Tokkou said as he declined the offer
"I hate you for making me feel like that, but I swear I will pay you back, just watch out for the next time we meet! I will be much stronger and richer, I assure you!" Teras said with a smile
"That's reassuring! Anyway, have a safe trip, and remember, don't die!" Tokkou said as he waved and turned around
"I told you I won't jerk!" Teras said as he turned around
He then began to walk toward his new life with a smile full of D E T E R M I N A T I O N
Teras's path to greatness just started and with the right mindset and skill, he walked proudly into the next town, Prodo, the town of adventurers